another computer problem

[Boggy]

today my pc is playing up!

when i start up it begins to boot then after the first screen just hangs with a blank screen and a small cursor flashing in the top left corner.

last time it did this i had to use system recovery to get it working again which was a pita!
this time ive found that if i hit esc on the first screen then select boot from hd it starts up ok

any ideas??

ive run malwarebyte and cc cleaner and done an avg scan, and its cleared out a few adwares etc but still hangs


its a compaq running windows xp

(and yes i know its not a mac blah blah blah!!!!:D:D:D:D)

[LipolyGone]

Is the system bios set to boot from HD ron?
or is it set to boot from cd rom then defaults to 2nd boot dev
when nothing is happening with the rom drive.
Might be worth taking a look & changing the boot priority.

[Heliheaven]

It does sound like a bios issue, but unless you have changed it yourself it shouldn't change?

It is very possible that your CD/DVD is on it's way out - have you had any problems with it? Changing the boot sequence to HDD first will overcome the problem but it will need changing back if you ever need to boot from a bootable CD for recovery or the like.

If you have the confidence/skill it might be a good day to have the side off the PC and clean it out. I usually (carefully) unplug all the pci and memory cards and reinsert them. It is amazing how much difference a good clean out makes ;)

[spunkmyer]

[quote=rcslopesurfer;429542]Is the system bios set to boot from HD ron?
or is it set to boot from cd rom then defaults to 2nd boot dev
when nothing is happening with the rom drive.
Might be worth taking a look & changing the boot priority.[/quote]

I agree with this check the boot order in the bios settings f2 for a compaq if Im right. If it has been booting ok until today and nothing has been changed in the bios or installed in the OS then maybe a bios problem or the bios is waiting to hand over to the OS but it is hanging due to a HD fault or a boot file in at bad sector in the boot sector on the HD.

If it is set to boot from the cd and cant see the HD then it should give a error messeage once it can not find the device with boot files but as you get a flashing cursor then it is waiting for something

But look at the bios first

[ddracer]

Have you left a usb storage device plugged in?

[Boggy]

:cheers2:ddracer gets the prize!

i had left my camera sd card in the reader!! whoops!!:blush5:
removed it done a restart and all seems ok:)

thanks for all your help guys i now know a little more about computers:D

[ddracer]

Not even a pretty face. LOL

[Boggy]

omg it get worse sorry dude smiley 's in the wrong places:D:D

[Leo77]

Hi have you tried unplugging it from the mains and leaving it an hour or so, I had same sort of thing and it worked fine afterwards.

[ddracer]

Or you could just format the drive and install Linux. It would not have solved your issue but at least it would be one less computer running Win-derz...

[spunkmyer]

[quote=ddracer;429631]Have you left a usb storage device plugged in?[/quote]

Yes well done. Forgot about that one. On that subject floppy disc's used to do that when left in.:cheers2: